Everyone watches women’s sports, as the T-shirt says, and brands are following the eyeballs.
In 2024, advertisers spent more than $244 million running TV campaigns against women’s sports, up 139% from 2023, according to a new report from TV measurement company EDO. Not only are brands spending more on those ads, but they’re also seeing results, with the average ad during a women’s sporting event generating 40% more engagement than the average ad on prime-time TV, per EDO.
Brands from categories including auto and insurance led the charge in terms of spend, and sectors like beverage and retail also saw high engagement with their ads that ran during women’s sporting events. And while basketball and gymnastics were popular to watch last year, some of the most effective ads ran against college lacrosse games, EDO found.
Big spenders: Brands from the auto industry spent the most last year, investing $27.2 million to make up 11% of total ad spend against women’s sports on national TV, according to the report.
- Pharma brands spent $26.2 million, another 11% of the total spend.
- Internet and telecom followed with $25.6 million, and financial services companies spent $24.5 million, representing 10% of total national TV ad spend on women’s sports each.
- Insurance and food and beverage accounted for 8% each, and retail for 6%.
Top individual spenders included plaque psoriasis medication Skyrizi, State Farm, AT&T, Allstate, and endemic sports brands like Nike and Gatorade.
While Skims wasn’t a top spender on ads, it was the most effective advertiser in women’s sports: The WNBA sponsor was 3,716% more effective than the average brand running women’s sports ads, EDO found. The company defines ad effectiveness as how likely the spot is to get people to engage with a brand online.
League look: Basketball, including both the WNBA and women’s college hoops, delivered for its advertisers. Ads that ran during the women’s NCAA basketball tournament proved 19% more effective than the average ad during a women’s sporting event last year, and ads from the WNBA Finals, which broke viewership records on ESPN, proved 18% more effective, per EDO.
- Fast food and pizza brands made a strong showing throughout the 2024-25 NCAA regular season, with Marco’s Pizza, Popeyes, and Papa Johns seeing the most engagement.
- During the tournament, Cracker Barrel, Inspire, and T-Mobile topped the list of most effective brands.
- Skims, Oura, and Carvana were the most effective brands in the W.
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College gymnastics ads were also 18% more effective than the average, and ads that ran during the US Open women’s singles final and semifinals were 20% more effective, EDO found. It was college lacrosse, however, that generated the most engagement for advertisers, with 25% more efficiency than the average.
In addition to college gymnastics and lacrosse, NCAA volleyball “might just be the best-kept secret in women’s sports,” EDO wrote. Last year’s Women’s College Volleyball Championship Game had 1.3 million viewers, and on average, the ads that ran during the game saw 3.5x the impact of the average prime-time commercial.
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